Utopia

Interestingly both Ausar and Keita apparently only started playing [competitive] basketball in high school, but you can easily tell Ausar has more natural coordination. Ausar did probably play some pick-up ball, which would’ve given him a bit more of a feel for the game. Keita you can tell started completely raw and is likley too far behind to now…[Read more]

I believe the issue with Gabe is that he is a catch-and-shoot rhythm shooter and as the competition has gotten better, he has lost his open catch-and-shoot type shots and has had to force contested shots off the dribble. Last year there was Carlson drawing double-teams in the post and Deivon drawing help on his drives, both of these creating…[Read more]

Size advantage was definitely a big factor. TDS’ doesn’t have a lot of size in their frontcourt, amongst other weaknesses. They are definitely a guard-centric team.

Ausar was terrific last night, but it’s important to consider the matchup advantages that allowed him to have success in his ISO play. He had a strength and athleticism advantage…[Read more]

I get your thinking, but I disagree. I’m not saying to bench Madsen, just that he shouldn’t take as many contested shots. The defense will still have to guard him closely so he doesn’t get open shots, but he should pass up contested shots for the offense to work for a better shot. Chucking shots that only convert 23-28% — all those misses are…[Read more]

Don’t get me wrong, he was terrific tonight and carried us in the second half, but his potency tonight was a bit of an abberation if you’ve paid attention to his play throughout the year. ISO is not how he is going to be consistently effective; some of the matchups tonight just happened to be favorable. He tends to be most effective playing off…[Read more]

I did not comment during the losing streak because I was in Caribbean

Losing streak period was 12/21 – 1/10 (the day before the OKST win) = 20 days. You didn’t comment until 1/16 after the two wins and over three weeks after the losing streak began. So yeah, I did the math and logic and my assumption is perfectly consistent with your original…[Read more]

Three weeks in the Caribbean? Lucky you.

Someone who always manufactures excuses and/or distorts reality to deflect evidence-backed criticisms of a person’s actions is the definition of an apologist. That’s exactly what your comments have been whether or not you recognize it.

Wahlin returned from his mission in May 2023 – over 1.5 yrs ago. He…[Read more]

I have learned to take Utefanbybirthandchoice with a grain of salt. He is an unwaivering Smith apologist bordering on delusional. He makes up claims and narratives without ever providing any substantiating evidence; it’s all just surface-level vibes. “Wahlin’s conditioning is finally catching up post mission.” Lol, it’s taken 1.5 yrs to get his…[Read more]

Apparently Ausar only started playing basketball in high school, which explains a lot. He clearly has rudimentary mechanics, skillset and feel for the game, which are somewhat compensated by his exceptional athleticism. He only has two offensive moves, both of which often end up in a turnover, missed layup or getting blocked. He’s undersized and…[Read more]

Yep, Deivon is basically a poor-man’s Derrick Rose. Deivon is a little smaller, not quite as slick handles, and just less refined overall, but basically the same main attributes that make Rose special.

Can you point out exactly when Deivon was benched? He has played at least 17 min in every game and only under 25 min five times (most of those were blowout wins). He has been a consistent starter and key player.

Deivon is playing on a good team for a coach who has won two national championships and he is playing more and is more productive than…[Read more]

That might be the official positional rotation, but Keller and Dawes are about the same size and in college you can usually get away with playing 6’9″ at center. Play the guys that make a difference. Keller just isn’t impactful at all (doesn’t even rebound). Lohner looked pretty good and was pretty productive in his first six games, but he seems…[Read more]

Saunders and Jenkins may have had a couple of good games, but otherwise they were consistently pretty bad. I especially remember Saunders getting plenty of opportunities and getting pulled because he was immmediately awful. Neither of those guys were P5 players; nowhere near the same level as Devion and Dawes.

I said early in the season he looked like he had major potential and could end up being our best big by the end of the year…and then he was inexplicably benched for six games. Not only is he athletic, he’s a good passer. He’s made a number of really nice touch passes to Lovering for easy dunks in the last few games. Why in the world was Keller…[Read more]

Dawes 16pt/9reb. His role has been so confounding. First six games he averaged 12pt/8reb in 20 min, which is highly productive. Then he basically rode bench for the next six games, including two DNP’s. 11pt/5reb vs TT, only 2 min vs ISU, then this great game. He’s productive when he plays. Why wasn’t he playing in that six-game stretch? He’s…[Read more]

Check out this presser from another short bald coach who actually has standards (UCLA’s Cronin):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwaLey5pkVc

Polar opposite attitudes. Smith’s participation trophy standards are f’n pathetic. I’m not going to bother listening to anymore of Smith’s press conferences. Every postgame presser is always the same crap,…[Read more]

I also remember Johnnie Bryant’s name being thrown around at the time, but that might have just been wishful fan conjecture.

If all that is accurate, then I’d consider that AD malpractice. All three of those names are more than worthy of giving serious consideration. I’d imagine the appeal of Smith was convenience, cost and a soft appeasing…[Read more]

Yep his postgame comments are always nonsense — major “participation trophy” energy. Weak sauce. I’m not saying he needs to rip into the players, but everything about his energy and words is Charmin soft.

The funny thing is teams are probably over-complicating scouting us, specifically our defense. Our defense is comically easy to beat – we can’t stop dribble penetration at all. You don’t really need to run any complex sets to break us down; you just need to let your quick athletic guards drive by our slow/weak guards and it’s an easy direct path…[Read more]